Frank Bruni, a gay white man, wrote a column in Sunday’s NYT in which he addressed the argument that he enjoys “white privilege.” If you wanted to draw the right-wing caricature of the Democratic Party, you could do far worse.
There are prominent African-Americans who believe that white people should be required to pay them reparations. But all straight people, including African-Americans, have oppressed gay people for thousands of years–aren’t gays entitled to an offset? What about women, who didn’t earn equal pay for equal work? Surely everyone should owe reparations to Native Americans. What about white people who are descended from Union soldiers who died fighting to end slavery, or white people whose ancestors immigrated after the end of slavery? What about mixed race people: are they victims or oppressors? The list goes on and on.
The Democratic Party needs a message of unity and uplift if it wants to win future elections. It can’t pander to bigotry, it should rebut the false narrative that white Christians are victims, and it can’t tell white workers that they are the only America, or even the default. But it has to assure them that they are a cherished part of the community entitled to the protection of their government, not just a bunch of oppressors who need to be cut down to size.
In other words, if all you have to offer white workers is guilt and penance for oppressive acts committed by their ancestors, don’t be surprised if they vote for Trump.